Dec 9, 2009 | Landscape Photography
As the sun slowly climbed to the horizon the clouds kissing the earth got brighter and brighter and the color more and more intense. It’s what New Mexico is so famous for and this morning, it did not disappoint! The number of birds on the refuge is definitely down, really down so the vast numbers that create the huge explosions at sunrise just aren’t going to happen. Not to worry because it just takes one bird to make your day.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP7600.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Earlier then I would have liked, the Snow Geese that were slowly growing in number burst into the sky. A Bald Eagle had swooped in looking for an easy meal of a injured bird. There were none so it went off hungry. Those with the ultra angle in hand and ready to go, the surprise explosion made for a very cool photo app. The key I think in making the image work is including as much color as you can while tilting the camera up to include as many geese directly overhead you can. You swing, fire and smile with the incredible display of nature unfolding right over your head!
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP7657.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
When that was over I turned to the west and say this gorgeous cloud stretching out to reach us. It was one of those landscapes that just had to be recorded and shared. Simply gorgeous!
Photos captured by D3s, 14-24AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film
Dec 8, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
Ah, back at the flight deck at Bosque, the glow of the promising sun just starting to glow in the east. The faint calls of the Snow Geese are just starting to kiss the morning chill, it’s hard to beat the romance of a Bosque morning. And I have to admit that is sucked me back in for a while and I fell back on old photographic pursuits.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6526.swf, 585, 444, [/swf]
But can you blame me? I mean look at that color in the water reflecting from the amazing color on the horizon. The geese flocked up it a cool shape in that color, the graphic a powerful one. That is the power of Bosque and the lure that seems to keep calling me back. Unlike prior visits here though the aperture is not closed down trying to pull in DOF but rather, I’m shooting wide open. I’m watching the background and working on making it still work for the subject without telling everything sharply. I’m loving this “retrospective” in minimum DOF and how it’s pushing me and my photography. Dang, great start to the day!
Photo captured by D3x, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Dec 8, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
As the first evening came to a close, I saw this amazing light on a small group of cranes. No sooner then I first saw it and it disappeared. I kept scanning for any last shots in the last light of the day when I saw the light comeback again. I swung the 600mm on the group of cranes and no sooner then I had focused, the light faded.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6471.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
I was bummed this time because what I saw with my eyes looked even cooler in the viewfinder. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be, what were the odds that after missing it twice, I would have a third chance at it. I was just taking my eyes from the viewfinder when I saw it comeback. I got off four clicks before it disappeared for the last time. I was tempted to run after the car whose headlights were lighting the cranes so I could a couple more images but decided to let the moment go by and just thought of it as a continuation of my challenge. Besides, I could always use my own truck to light them again if I really wanted to.
Photo captured by D3s, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Dec 8, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
Ah, back at one of my favorite places, Bosque del Apache. It’s so good to be back and at the same time a major challenge. With over 100k images in the files already from Bosque, what can I do and photograph it differently to challenge myself and grow as a photographer. Pushing, pushing, pushing, that is so essential to keep on growing. Our first evening here this ran through my mind as I clicked off the first frames.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6363.swf, 585, 444, [/swf]
One thing that is new is I’ve not shot here with the FX format. So I pulled out the D3x and went to work. I just love Sandhill Cranes, spent one heck of a lot of time with them. Taking these graceful, lanky critters with the most romantic call and sum them up in one click is a challenge if you never have photographed them before. But I have to bring them down to an even more basic design elements while retaining that romance came to be as the sun set. I was looking at the reflections in the water when I saw this graphic. I threw the 600mm on it to see if what my mind saw translated in the viewfinder.
I figure that this first attempt of talking about cranes visually will only reach those who know cranes. The tails feathers and knobby knees can only be one bird, at least for those who have photographed these gorgeous birds. I have my challenge before me, add images to the files I don’t already have, tell the same story with a different twist while keeping myself challenge. It’s going to be a great week.
Photo captured by D3s, 600VR on Lexar UDMA digital film
Dec 3, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
Gulls, they are everywhere and really takes no skill to find them and make them the subject of your photograph. The skill comes in taking a common subject and approaching it in an uncommon manor. In this case it was no more than getting down in the surf with it. What attracted me to this individual Laughing Gull was the way the wind blew up the feathers and the shadow made them pop.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6161.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
I kind of feel like a peeping tom look up some skirt lying on the sand photographing these birds. But getting down low has so many positives that I just can’t get enough of being down low. My only negative of being down low is you can’t move quickly to react to the background. In this case a watercraft went by messing up the surf and turning it more brown than I would like. That’s the price you pay though when you comment to getting down.
Photo captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film
Dec 3, 2009 | Wildlife Photography
Watching, watching through the lens the critter as it goes about its daily life is something I could spend a life time doing and never get tired of it. And there are times when I do just that and totally forget to push the shutter release because I am just so caught up in the story in front of my lens.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6798.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
Gulls and terns like this Royal Tern spend a lot of time working on their feathers, it’s the nature of living at the shore. This photo and pose is pretty common and easy to capture. The trick is to know that this leads to other things. The more typical is the wing stretch, a cool body posture. What they do sometimes and then for only a brief second is rub their head on their back. Often the pose looks really awkward and simply doesn’t work but don’t give up on it.
[swf]http://www.moosepeterson.com/swf_imgs/_BMP6751.swf, 585, 444 [/swf]
I just love Sandwich Terns, don’t know why but I just give them all my attention when they are around. How do you know they are Sandwich Terns? They have the dab of mayonnaise on the tip of their bill. This one was preening away and was really getting into it. I shot and watched, shot and watched and then the head started to turn and turn until it looks nearly upside down. I was quite happy with spending time with this tern, it produced a photo I like. And what makes both images really work is being down on their level, a perspective that works well for being intimate with the subject.
Photos captured by D3s, 600VR w/TC-17e on Lexar UDMA digital film.
